Rat-running must stop, say villagers

Amanda Barlow with Christopher, seven, and George, four, with homemade speed signs as part of the campaign to stop rat-running in Blackheath.

Share

Get daily updates directly to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

THE people of Blackheath have spoken and they have made it clear what they want – slower traffic and less of it.

The pretty village nestled in the Surrey hills is cursed by the fact that it is on a rat-running route and that the only speed limit is the national limit of 60mph, which residents say is ridiculously high for the narrow country roads.

Villagers have been trying for years to get something done, but so far to no avail.

Now the Blackheath Village Society (BVS), in conjunction with Wonersh Parish Council, is making another concerted effort to persuade Surrey County Council to take some action.

A traffic survey was carried out by the BVS and just before Christmas a meeting was held in the village at which residents gave their support for a number of objectives aimed at making Blackheath safer.

There have been encouraging noises, too, from Mike Richardson, the county council officer who has been appointed as transport consultant to the Surrey Hills Integrated Traffic Management Project.

This aims to promote and reinforce the rural character of country lanes as a means of influencing drivers to be more cautious, considerate and to drive more slowly.

However, Blackheath’s parish councillor Nick Morris admitted last week: “We are under no illusions that this is not going to be anything other than a hard slog and quite a lengthy one.”

But he and BVS chairman, Paul Brodie, know they have the backing of local residents as well as “a lot of energy” to maintain the impetus for action.

Mr Brodie said: “We are getting a very clear picture from the residents that they want to see the traffic slowed down and the amount reduced.”

Cllr Morris said: “We do have clearer guidance about the sort of things people are happy to see.

“The one thing they do not want is urbanisation – things like cross-hatching and gates.”

The meeting in Blackheath resulted in aims to create a series of “pinch-points” at the immediate approaches to the village in Sample Oak Lane, Littleford Lane and Blackheath Lane to narrow the lanes with clearly defined passing places in order to protect the banks and verges from further erosion, and to introduce other measures to help get average speeds down to between 20mph and 25mph.

At the latest meeting of Wonersh Parish Council, Cllr Morris accepted that the problem with simply imposing lower speed limits was enforcement, but explained the reasoning behind some of the radical ideas emerging from Surrey Hills project.

“By creating a certain environment within the lanes, such as a strip down the middle or down the sides of the road, you force drivers to drive slower,” he said.

The authority supported the approach being taken, but also suggested it should be backed up by an education campaign. The council also agreed to establish a joint working party with the BVS to move the whole thing forward.